Stiletto Trade Advice

[mesahonk]

Hey, I have a trade set up, my ace 2x12 combo for a deuce stage II head.

I'm thinking I would like the extra head room, and not having to lug my HEAVY ace combo back and forth 2x a week to practice.

I would have to buy a 4x12 cab to keep a my practice space, I have a reco 2x12 cab I can use at home.

Are there any downsides as far as tone goes, to trading and ace combo for a deuce head??

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Jmango]

Heh. I just did the SAME thing except I went from and Ace head to a Deuce Stage II head.

I called Mesa and talked to Marcus and he pretty much said that only tone purists can detect any difference at all so there really is no down side.

You might notice a difference going from a combo to a head /cab though.

Let me know what you think. I cannot hear ANY difference between the two (playing at 50 watts), so I am happy.

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

Hopefully I can help a bit....I tried the Deuce, Trident, and Ace 2x12 combo before buying my Deuce.

All great amps...ended up with the Deuce, and here is why...you covered most of the reasons already.

-To me, the 100 watt power section gives everything a little more beef...big transformer, more metal....can't go wrong :twisted:
-HEADROOM....the cleans are cleaner, and the drive holds together better to my ears
-I HATE combos for their weight...especially mesa ones...lugging a 100 lb piece like that is not easy on the back...I'd much rather have it in pieces.
-I've always preferred the sound of a separate speaker cab...the speakers seem to resonate a little better, and you have a much easier time matching the head to what you like cab wise....you're not stuck with it in one piece.
-You might also prefer the response of a close back, which is now an option with the head....more punch IMO.
-Finally....tubes are supposed to lake less of a beating in a head....since they're not in the same enclosure as the speaker....makes sense to me.

So yeah...for those reasons....and just because it overall felt and sounded like a better amp to me, the Deuce became my next amp.

Just an FYI....the Deuce can get slightly heavier to my ears...maybe it's the closed back cab that does that, but it does all the vintage marshall vibe the ace does, and if you want it too, it does aggressive and punch that I couldn't get out of the ace.

Best of luck....it's definitely a fair trade, if not slightly better on your half....the heads seem to be selling better as of late.

 

[Jak0lantern01]

Yup, the Stiletto can do it all. I play classic and the modern stuff with my Stiletto, just add an EQ in for the modern stuff. I even found I can lower my gain a bit on the amp after listening to our last gig. I think you'll be happy with your switch.

 

[MusicManJP6]

I've thought about switching to a head/cab from a combo, but I don't have the extra coin to do it at the moment. I do like my combo and I don't move it much ATM, but if I get with a band then i'll be moving it more and two lighter pieces of gear would be nice. Not to mention I think the Deuce sounds a little better than the Ace.

 

[Moot]

I had both the Ace head + recto cab (they shipped me the wrong one) as well as my 2x12 combo. The head/cab was a beast and had thick tone, but after a couple of weeks of A/B-ing the two I settled on the combo. For me it was the clarity and subtle bass of the 2x12 that sold me. I was never into the recto sound - I felt my bass player would kill me for being in his sonic territory - so that might be the difference right there. My friend bought the head/cab from me for his studio, but we end up recording with the 2x12 more often. It might just be that I'm used to the combo now and can dial in tones more easily as a result.

I also disattached one of the speakers in the combo for some recording to a good result.

Now I have a Beam-Blocker on the left speaker when I use the V-30s, but love the vintage-ness of greenbacks and 1265's.

I've thought about switching to a head/cab from a combo, but I don't have the extra coin to do it at the moment. I do like my combo and I don't move it much ATM, but if I get with a band then i'll be moving it more and two lighter pieces of gear would be nice. Not to mention I think the Deuce sounds a little better than the Ace.

 

[avi8r2005]

i just did some more tweaking with mine this weekend, and discovered some more awesomeness on this thing. Probably not much of a secret, but on channel 1, with crunch mode selected and the gain dimed, a overdrive in front and using an MXR 6band EQ in the loop, i was able to get some awesome rythm sounds out of it and then switch to channel 2 on tite gain for the boosts. WOW, this thing can do it all. I'm strongly considering getting a JC120 for just my cleans and using this as my all dirt amp. The only thing I don't like about it is that I'm running through a recto 2x12 cabinet and also discovered some quirky things this weekend. i've been struggling to get my effects to come out good, using a G major in the loop and they just sound weak or non-existent. took the head and effects unit to the local music shop and ran it through a 4x12 cabinet and what do you know, all the effects were there. No tweaking on levels or any such thing. It's the weirdest thing so it sounds like a 4x12 is in my future as well.

 

[mesahonk]

Well I pulled the trigger on it... thanks for the advice, with some finagling and throwing in some mics cables and such, I got got the head plus $200.00 so I'm pretty happy.

I just need and 4x12 cab now. I can tell you I already like the deuce better, fuller tone and more clarity. I threw in some kt77's, and it greatly reduced the boomy-ness of the recto 2x12, the guy I traded with couldn't believe the difference the kt77's made in this amp, it also got rid of the fizzy-ness as well.